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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27890803">The First Cut Is The Deepest</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jessie2126/pseuds/Jessie2126'>Jessie2126</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Madney Prompts, 1 Shots, and Drabbles. [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Blood, Childhood Injury, F/M, madney</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:27:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>913</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27890803</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jessie2126/pseuds/Jessie2126</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>TW, blood, childhood injury<br/>Takes place when baby Noelle is 5. Chim spends the day with her and it doesn't go as smoothly as planned</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Madney Prompts, 1 Shots, and Drabbles. [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1760506</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The First Cut Is The Deepest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>TW, Childhood injury and blood are mentioned heavily in this</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was just supposed to be a normal day. Maddie, 6 months pregnant, was taking a shift at work. Noelle, 5, had a day off of school and he was spending it with her at home. </p><p>Maddie leans over to kiss him as she heads out the door, her large stomach making it almost impossible. “I’ll see you later. Love you, and could you maybe chop up some vegetables for a salad?”</p><p>“Copy that.” He kisses her back. “Love you to, and I’d offer to cook something else, but that probably wouldn’t go very well.” </p><p>“It definitely wouldn’t.” She bends down to Noelle, lightly placing a kiss on the top of her head. “Bye baby, I’ll see you later.” </p><p>“Promise?”</p><p>“I promise. You and daddy will have lots of fun.”</p><p>“And so will you and my sister?”</p><p>She smiles. “Of course we will.” And she heads out. </p><p>The rest of the day goes pretty well. They watch a bunch of kids TV, and she giggles when he remembers all the words. They play a great game of shoots and ladders and he allows her to win, not wanting to see the sadness on her face if she doesn’t. She takes a nap, allowing him to catch up on some much-needed paperwork. Once he’s finished, he lightly heads into her room and just watches her. She was beautiful. Her dark hair fanning over the pillow, eyes closed, slight smile on her face. He can’t wait to see his new daughter in just a few months. Then she sits up and sleepily eyes him.</p><p>“Daddy?”</p><p>He scoops her up. “Hey, how’d you sleep?”</p><p>“Good, what are we gonna do now?”</p><p>“I’m going to make a salad for mommy and me to eat for dinner.”</p><p>“Yay, I want to help cook.”</p><p>“Maybe.” He doesn’t tell her that it’s all he can do to cut vegetables without making a mess. “Why don’t you stay here while I do that, then maybe I can find something for you.”</p><p>He sees the firm set of her jaw, so much like Maddie’s and knows it’s a lost cause. “No, want to help.”</p><p>He sighs, knowing that  going back and forth with her will get him nowhere. She was just as stubborn as her mother and would argue with him for hours if he gave her the chance. “Okay, let’s go.”</p><p>They head into the kitchen and she eyes him excitedly. “Let’s start.” </p><p>He takes a slow deep breath. “Let me get everything we need first, then we can start.”</p><p>He grabs a cutting board, and reaches into the fridge for lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers. </p><p>“Now?”</p><p>“No, we need to wash them.”</p><p>He here’s the annoyed way she’s pacing as she watches him carefully wash each piece. If he had more energy, he would have told her about the dangers of eating food without cleaning it. But he feels the beginnings of a headache coming on and knows that he doesn’t have it in him right now. “Now!!!”</p><p>He grabs the knife from the block on the counter and sets it next to the board. “Yes, just give me one more minute.”</p><p>“You’re just saying that!!!!” </p><p>He here’s the beginnings of a tantrum coming on. “No, I’m not, I promise” he says, a little distracted as he struggles to grab the Advil from the cabinet, internally griping about the numerous amounts of pre-natal vitamins in the way. He’s finally gotten the cap off when he here’s a blood curdling scream.</p><p>He feels more than hears the sound of the bottle hitting the ground, little white pills flying everywhere. “D D Daddy, it h hurts.” </p><p>Her pretty cartoon t-shirt is now stained red as the blood pours. He wants to cry, wants to shake uncontrollably. He’s seen wounds before, has probably treated hundreds of kids. But this is</p><p>His</p><p>Kid. It’s all he can do to slowly pull her hand away from her shirt and holding it flat, palm up, inspect the wound.</p><p>“J just, w w wanted to h help.” </p><p>“I know you did, and I’m so sorry.” His voice is choked, throat tight, he hopes she doesn’t notice. There was a deep cut across the palm, several inches long. She had tried to grab the knife and had picked it up, blade first. It’s quite deep, and the blood continues to pulse out of it. He grabs a dish towel and pushes it hard against the wound.</p><p>“Ow, ow, ow, y y your h hurting me!!!!”</p><p>He feels his stomach clench harder and harder with each of her screams. It’s not something he hasn’t seen before. But this is different. This is </p><p>His </p><p>Daughter. She’s his everything, his world, and when she hurts</p><p>He</p><p>Hurts just as much, if not more. “I know, baby, I’m so sorry. I know it hurts, but this is the only way to make the bleeding stop.”</p><p>“I want mommy.”</p><p>“I know me to. Noelle, I need you to be brave for me, do you think you can do that?”</p><p>She gives the tiniest of nods. “M m maybe?”</p><p>“I know you will, and I’ll be with you every step of the way. But now, we need to take a little ride to get that fixed up.” With his other hand, he grabs his phone and dials 3 very familiar numbers. He’s never hoped to hear Maddie’s voice less. But he’d no it anywhere when it comes on the line. “9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”</p>
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